


little of your love

by bubblelaureno



Category: Love Island (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Fake Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:48:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29885508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bubblelaureno/pseuds/bubblelaureno
Summary: Marisol and Alecto are best friends. When they kiss at a club while drunk, they launch into a fake relationship. But what if they want something more than that?
Relationships: Marisol/Main Character (Love Island)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	little of your love

**Author's Note:**

> This is inspired by Little of Your Love by Haim. I had a considerable longing to write something Marilecto related again, so here it is!   
> This is also for the March prompt from r/LITGFanfiction on Reddit  
> Fake relationship/ fake dating

_ What the hell happened last night, anyway?  _

Marisol opened her eyes slowly, being mindful to avoid moving too quickly as to not fall over. She tried to stand up, and her legs wobbled under her. She couldn’t do anything without needing to sit down again; her legs kept wobbling. Her head was pounding and she wanted so desperately to just go back into bed again. Someone was playing loud music, and she checked the time, her eyes widening when she noticed it was already 2pm. 

_ How did you sleep in that long? It’s a Saturday, but still.  _

Her stomach growled and she changed out of last night’s clothes carefully, putting them in her laundry basket, and grabbed the first combination her hands settled on: an oversize hoodie and jeans. She was usually very put together and pristine, so to wear something more relaxed was strange for her. She brushed her hair carefully and grabbed her glasses, wedging her door open, putting her keycard and phone in her hoodie pocket in case the door shut behind her. 

Thankfully the kitchen was empty, and she grabbed a glass of water and a bagel, taking them back into her room. She was still having to be careful, her head still felt wobbly. She sat down with relief and checked her phone at her desk. 

Something jumped to her attention almost immediately, and she stared at it. A photo of her together with Alecto, kissing Alecto’s cheek.  _ Oh no. Did you finally decide to confess the truth to her, and ruined your friendship?  _

For years, Marisol had been sitting on a constant crush on her best friend. They had been close since primary school, despite going down different paths in terms of their futures. She had dated a friend before, which really didn’t end well in the slightest. In the past, there were 4 of them in their little group; Charlotte, Olivia, and both her and Alecto. Dating Olivia was a considerable mistake, and left her in a complete mess. Charlotte wasn’t really friends with either of them, she had latched onto Olivia then joined up with the overall group. 

_ Maybe Alecto’s rule of not dating until she had graduated school entirely was a good one. You didn’t take her advice there, and do wish you did. Dating girls as a whole is difficult, never mind this constant complex you have of comparing everyone you meet to Alecto.  _

Her phone beeped, and she noticed a message flash up on her screen. Her stomach dropped slightly as she read it.

**Alecto:** Are you up? I need to talk to you. I’m not sure if something happened last night, but there’s something I need to sort out. Or even if you remember anything.

A second text flashed up. 

**Alecto:** I’d prefer to sort it out today, as well. I’m aware you tend to run from your problems, but this is important. I’ve been up for a while, not drinking much definitely helped things. So I’d appreciate it if you came to talk to me. I’m in room 310, the one right next to the kitchen.

Marisol winced slightly, reading over the two texts again. Her hand shook and she bit her lip.  _ Something definitely happened. But what? Oh shit, this can’t be good.  _

She stood, putting her phone and key card back in her pocket, grabbing her dishes from her desk. She made her way into the kitchen, trying to stall time by doing her dishes and washing up, drying them and staring into space when she was done. Her mind was racing, and she eventually decided to go ahead and do it. She was making it far worse by waiting it out.

She stood outside Alecto’s door and knocked before she could talk herself out of it. Alecto opened the door quickly and looked over at her. Her eyes softened slightly, as she looked her up and down. 

“Mari, you don’t look great at all. I’m not used to seeing you like this.” The softness in Alecto’s voice changed as she hardened it slightly. “But we do need to talk. Come in, and close the door behind you.” 

Marisol nodded, following Alecto into her room. Everything looked neat and tidy, books and textbooks in neat piles, a plant on her desk, fairy lights wound around the shelves. Her room seemed warm and welcoming, blankets and pillows on her bed. 

Alecto sat down in her desk chair, folding one leg over the other. 

“Sit down, make yourself comfortable.” Marisol perched on the end of the bed, looking at her through long hair.  _ What did you do to ruin this? Everything seems a bit uneasy.  _

“W...what’s happening? What did I do last night?” Marisol filled the silence between them quickly, tripping over her words as she spoke. She felt herself falling back into the awkward, shy person she was when she was younger, and unable to stop that from happening. She ducked her head slightly, staring at her lap and hiding behind her hair.

“Hey. Listen to me a second. Don’t be nervous or anything, I just…” Alecto winced slightly, fiddling with loose curls. “I’m a little bit confused myself, this morning someone asked me why I didn’t tell them I had a girlfriend. I’m very much single, unless you said something? You do look awful though, did you sleep last night?”

“Hold on. I’ll need to try and remember. I’m not sure what happened last night, even. I never sleep well when I drink a lot, and I’ve been feeling dizzy too. Usual sign of anxiety…” Her voice felt far away, and she noticed Alecto leaning in to hear her.

Marisol cupped her ear, hearing a ringing noise. She bit her lip, finding herself slipping back in time, in her memories to yesterday.

———————

Marisol was getting ready to go out, curling her long hair into loose ringlets. Her hair was naturally wavy, but she made the curls more prominent. She had to do the best she could with the clothes she’d brought, she hadn’t prepared for going out in the slightest. Alecto was pretty talented in terms of hair, she supposed she could ask her for help. 

Her leather jacket sat on the back of her chair, and she put it on. She had decided to go easy on the make up, only going for her signature red lipstick and mascara. She had picked out a black long sleeved t-shirt, a pinafore dress and leggings. As she looked at herself in the mirror, she felt so young. It was difficult to avoid comparing herself to the others, she had latched onto Alecto so quickly and was so quiet compared to the rest of them.  _ You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. You can just stay here, on a quiet floor and have it pretty much to yourself for a while. Maybe have an early night. But Alecto’s going too, and she’s not exactly the clubbing type herself.  _

She sat down on the chair, putting on her Doc Martens. Her feet weren’t great in terms of shoes, she preferred to wear comfortable shoes over what was fashionable. She heard a knock at the door, and jumped out of her skin, the quiet room caused the slightest bit of sound to be magnified. She grabbed a small bag, putting her phone, purse with money and her card in along with her keycard, and grabbed her glasses. She was unsure how she had nearly forgotten them, but her head was in the clouds slightly.

She opened the door, her breath catching in her throat when she noticed Alecto, who grinned at her. She seemed natural in a denim jacket, dark t-shirt, and jeans. 

“Hey! Just wanted to check on you, thought you might be freaking out a little bit and need a friendly face.” Alecto nudged her and she blinked, trying to smile.

“I’m fine, just didn’t exactly prepare for this.” She motioned towards her outfit and Alecto laughed slightly.

“Me either. But we can just do the best with what we have. Don’t worry so much, it’ll be fine. If you don’t like it, we don’t have to do it again.” Alecto reached out and squeezed her hand. It felt warm and comforting, and a little bit more. 

Marisol stepped forward, closing the door behind her. “I...I’m pretty much ready. You look good, by the way…” 

Alecto nodded, leading her into the kitchen. A group of 4 people stood together, clearly ready to leave. She felt a lump appear in her throat, and swallowed it down, ignoring her anxiety. 

Alecto led her over to the main group, who smiled when they noticed both of them. She found herself tuning out of the conversation, fiddling with a loose curl of hair. 

Without her being fully aware, Alecto led her outside and down in the lift.

“Are you okay? You seem quieter than usual.” Alecto nudged her arm. 

“I’m fine…” She ignored her feelings, pushing them down. To admit she was actually scared of going clubbing would embarrass her further.

They took the bus into town, Marisol taking the window seat next to Alecto and staring into space. It was already so dark outside, despite only being 7pm. Part of her wanted so desperately to go back, but she couldn’t. Letting her anxiety get the better of her wasn’t something she was willing to do. 

Once they arrived in town, they made their way as a group. Alecto linked hands with her, her cold fingers grounding Marisol slightly. They were all wearing freshers’ wristbands, making the club free to enter. 

Once they were inside, Marisol blinked slightly. The club was rammed with people along with very loud music echoing throughout the room. It was difficult to pick out anyone in the tightly packed crowd, and she became relieved at Alecto’s hand in hers. Marisol clutched on tight to Alecto’s hand, her nerves making her grip stronger. Alecto led her through the crowd, following the rest of the group to the bar. It was an absolute sensory nightmare for Marisol and she could already feel a budding headache behind her temples. 

“Hey, what do you want?” Alecto shouted, going as close to her as possible to make herself heard. 

“Umm...I’ll just have the same as you,” Marisol replied, having to turn up her voice to be heard. 

Alecto gave her a thumbs up and nudged her in the direction of the rest of the group. “Just stay here with the others. I’ll be back in a bit.” 

Marisol stood on the outskirts of the group, finding herself just listening to the conversation, or trying to, over the loud music. She was already feeling herself struggling, and hoped that alcohol would make things better.  _ Alcohol will only make you more awkward. This was definitely a bad idea.  _

Alecto reappeared next to her. “Got you a beer. Something simple.”

Marisol nodded, taking it from her. “Wait...have you done this before then?”

“Well, not clubbing as such. But definitely a couple parties. Charlotte needed someone to go as a plus one, and asking Olivia was apparently out of the question. For some reason she’d ask me first.”  _ Wait. So you’d never even be thought of? Nice. _

Marisol’s eyes watered slightly, and she blinked, forcing her tears back and pretending to be okay. 

“Hey. I didn’t think it would be your thing, and it would be a little...awkward, considering the whole Olivia situation. Because they were friends first and all.” Alecto winced slightly. “I did try to get her to invite you, too, but she wouldn’t. Damn it, I’ve made things worse, haven’t I?”

Marisol didn’t respond, standing up and giving her glass back to Alecto, rushing into the bathroom. Thankfully there was no queue, and she stared at herself in the mirror. She removed her glasses, setting them on the sink ledge for the inevitability of tears, and felt the first one start to trail down her cheeks. She just let go entirely of all the emotions she had held back. She cursed the fact she’d chosen to not wear waterproof mascara, and wiped her eyes with toilet roll. 

_ Dating Olivia was the worst possible thing you did. At least you still have Alecto, but she might decide she deserves better. But at the same time, it was cruel of her to bring up Olivia like that. You’re not fully over her yet either.  _

To her relief, she was alone in the bathroom. The only person who could possibly help her was the reason she was a mess. Marisol looked at herself in the mirror, removing the last of the mascara tears from her face.  _ Alecto never wears makeup at all, and she looks amazing regardless. You shouldn’t feel pressured into doing it.  _

She blinked, taking in a couple of deep breaths. She checked herself in the mirror one last time, grabbing her glasses as she left the bathroom. She scanned the room for the group, the music taking her by surprise as she reappeared again. She picked out Alecto’s long dark hair through the crowd, noticing her perched on a bar stool with the others. She appeared animated and warm, joining in with the group discussion.  _ She’s probably not noticed that you left.  _

Marisol shook her head, ignoring her thoughts and made her way over to the group, leaning against the bar next to Alecto, who pushed her drink over to her with a warm smile. “Are you feeling better now? You seem considerably off.”

“I’m fine, clubbing isn’t really my thing. That’s all.” Marisol took a small sip of her beer, unexpectedly liking the taste. Her brother was very much the type who enjoyed going out, Marisol was completely the opposite. She found herself regularly having to live up to him, how he could somehow be both popular and smart. She constantly felt like she was trailing behind, desperately trying to catch up, yet never being able to. She would never live up to his example, or to Alecto’s. She found herself naturally drawn to people who she would never live up to, making her feelings of inferiority worse.

Alecto nodded, giving her a soft smile. She appeared absolutely radiant, her long hair loose around her shoulders. Her eyes were bright, the club lights turning them amber and an orange similar to sunlight. The fact she never felt the need to wear make up was something Marisol was jealous of, she found herself hiding behind the makeup too often.

Alecto turned back to the rest of the group. Marisol tried to focus on the main group, but with having to shout over the loud music, the bright lights and everything getting far too overwhelming, she gave up, taking a step back and focused on her drink. Time appeared to drag by slowly, as she took sips of her pint. She fished her phone from her bag, and checked it while leaning up against the table. She managed to finish her drink without even realising, and placed the empty glass on the table. She blinked, her head starting to turn slightly fluffy with the feeling of alcohol. The strong scent of alcohol overwhelmed her senses. 

Alecto nudged her arm and she moved closer. “Hey! Want to dance? The rest of the group is but you don’t have to if you don’t want to.” 

Marisol nodded, and Alecto grinned, hopping off the stool and leaving her empty glass on the bar. Marisol put her phone safely back in her bag, zipping it up and taking Alecto’s outstretched hand. Alecto led her to the rest of the group, her warmth contagious. 

Marisol found herself listening to the song currently blasting, the lyrics sinking into her head. 

**_I guess I’ll never understand the line between our love and romance, ‘cause when I look at you, I fall right into a dream._ **

The upbeat, pop music wasn’t Marisol’s usual type of thing, but she found herself relating to the lyrics.  _ Maybe, that’s the reason that you can’t love anyone who isn’t Alecto. She’s just so special to you, that you can’t face replacing her with anyone else.  _

Alecto caught hold of her hands, twirling her around. The movement snapped Marisol out of her thoughts. The alcohol hitting her system slowly started to cause her to lose the insecurities taking her over. She understood why Alecto appeared slightly different now. 

_ You generally hate dancing, so this isn’t your idea of fun. But Alecto has the kind of energy which even makes this fun!  _

People pressed around her, she moved closer to Alecto, staying close together. She was naturally drawn to her, but really didn’t want to get lost in the crowd. She moved her hips to the beat, not willing to let herself go too much. People were packed in close around her, and she felt really hot and sweaty. The room became smaller due to the amount of people crammed close together. She still had enough awareness of herself to know what she was doing, and found herself panicking slightly when she realised that the rest of the group had vanished. Alecto caught onto her hand and held on tight, dancing to the music. Her sweaty palms made it hard to maintain grip, but Marisol tried her best.

**_Me and my friends do whatever we want, and by friends, I really only mean one in particular, and that’s you_ **

They stayed together during the song, and danced for the next couple of songs until Alecto turned to her.

“Hey, want to go to the bar?” she shouted over the music. Marisol nodded, following her out of the crowd and letting out a sigh of relief. The heat and the feeling of bodies pressed up against her was turning her slightly woozy, having such a lack of personal space wasn’t fun for her. 

They sat on the two unoccupied bar stools by the bar. Marisol’s heart was racing and she took a couple of deep breaths. 

“Where’s the others?” she asked.

“Loo, I think. There’s bound to be a queue.” Alecto handed her another pint of beer.

“I’ll get the next round, it’s unfair you’re paying for everything.” 

Alecto held up her glass, and Marisol clinked hers together with Alecto’s, taking a sip. She found herself focused on the alcohol before her, and maintaining the feeling in her head. This loss of control was so rare, she was unsure why she was so comfortable with it.

The rest of the group joined them, and eventually they joined the crowd of dancers. She had no idea what her flatmates’ names were, she only knew Alecto really.

She found herself moving closer and closer to Alecto, until she moved forward and found herself kissing her best friend on the lips. The kiss was clumsy and felt very awkward, her eyes widened behind her glasses as she realised how disoriented she was beginning to feel. 

As they separated, Alecto disappeared into the crowd. Marisol tried to follow her, knowing deep down that she’d done the wrong thing completely. Her stomach lurched with the feeling that she might have ruined the only true friendship she had.

One of her flatmates nudged her arm and watched her carefully. The girl was taller than her, and she had long braids, and dark brown skin. She was bright in the crowd and easy to spot.

The rest of the group started to move to the side, and Marisol followed them. It was slightly quieter in the little corner they had found and she could finally hear herself think.

“Excuse me for being nosy, but are you dating Alecto by any chance? She didn’t tell me she had a girlfriend, but I suppose we’re practically strangers. I’m Hope, in case I haven’t already said. You have stuck to her like glue, so it does make sense if we haven’t talked much,” Hope said.

Before Marisol thought her next words through, the words escaped from her, the drink making her say stuff she wouldn’t normally. 

“I’m Marisol, by the way. Yeah, I do have a girlfriend, and I’m dating Alecto.” Her words sounded different to usual, and she was shocked at the unexpected confidence. Her stomach lurched again, and she winced, keeping a straight face. 

Hope didn’t notice any change in her, or didn’t comment on it.

The rest of the night blurred together, and she snapped out of her thoughts.

————————

Alecto looked over at Marisol, noticing her expression slowly turning more pale.

“Mari, you remember, right? Can you tell me what happened?” 

The silence remained between them, until Marisol spoke again. 

“Oh shit. W...we kissed last night, and I told Hope we were dating. I’m so sorry, it was the alcohol, I swear!” Marisol found her words running together as she spoke all in a rush. 

“Hey. Slow down. It was a surprise, sure. But that didn’t mean I didn’t like it. I’m not mad at you for it, I just wanted to clear it up. I didn’t exactly deny it, either. So if you want to give us a try, see if we can be more than friends, I’d be happy to pretend that we are dating, until we can work this out further.” Alecto sat down next to her, putting an arm around her shoulders. Marisol leant into it, letting the feeling of Alecto next to her calm her down. 

“Wait, really? You’re not scared by me being such a mess?” Marisol looked over to her, eyes wide in shock.

“You’re not a mess. You’re just not used to alcohol, is all. And not much of a clubbing person to start with, so you probably woke up with the whole ‘what the heck did I do last night?’ feeling, right? After two drinks, you definitely appeared warmer and more confident, it’s understandable that the alcohol changed you slightly.”

“How don’t you feel like death? Getting up was so much effort to me, I kept feeling dizzy. I still do, my head really hurts. Everything was just so wobbly, once I had a glass of water and food, I was a little better, but my head is absolutely killing me.”

Alecto laughed slightly. “I don’t really get hangovers. Maybe as I stick to only one or two drinks. I’ve had one hangover, then vowed never to do it again. You’re new to alcohol and nights out, along with clubbing. So it’s understandable that you overdid it last night. Hang on.” Alecto stood up, retrieving paracetamol from one of her drawers and handing them to Marisol. “I’ll get you a glass of water, wait a minute.”

As she stood up and made her way to the door, Marisol sent her a wobbly smile. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome, that’s what best friends are for.” Even that simple sentence caused Marisol to overthink, to sink into her thoughts.  _ Best friends? Does she not see it at all? Is it normal to have this much of a crush on someone and them have no idea? And a fake relationship? Is she not willing to risk something real? Or is something wrong with you? Does she like someone else? _

Marisol groaned in frustration, so many questions with no real answer yet. She would have no real idea, for at least a while.

————————

Alecto sat in the kitchen with Hope and Lucas, watching the TV together on the sofa. She sat in between them. She had found friends unexpectedly in the two of them. She was still closeish to Charlotte from home, but she wasn’t really a friend, just a leftover from Olivia, when she was part of the group. She didn’t even know why Charlotte had spent so much time around her at home, apart from the fact that without her and Marisol, Charlotte was lonely. Charlotte had moved back to Toronto for uni, so they would only see each other over the breaks. 

“I haven’t seen Marisol around much. Is she okay?” Hope asked.

“...Yeah. She’s just not great with groups of people at all. She prefers quiet, so stays in her room a lot. Even I haven’t seen her that much.” Alecto replied, after a little delay.  _ Did the outing make things weird between you? Marisol’s stopped even trying to go out with even you, she only goes out for food shopping and lectures, and when she needs to cook.  _

Hope nodded. “Are you okay? The minute I mentioned her you just acted strange.”

“It’s just weird. Back home, we used to hang out very often. Now she barely spends any time with me. This isn’t me being overly clingy, or anything. I’m quite quiet myself, and do prefer to be in my room. But even so, I do try to spend time with people. More you two, and some of my course mates, but she doesn’t even appear to have any friends on her course yet, or do anything much. She can’t be studying all the time, right? It’s not healthy.” Alecto fiddled with a bracelet on her wrist, moving it up and down her arm. 

“You’re right. When we went out as a group, she barely talked to any of us, until the alcohol kicked in. Considering the fact you two are ‘dating’ too, there’s something weird there. She went from spending so much time with you, to even disappearing from you. I didn’t think anything of her comment before, that you two were ‘dating’. But now I don’t believe it. I’m sorry if I’m being overly nosy or rude here.” Lucas replied, putting an arm around her shoulders. To Alecto’s surprise, she didn’t flinch away, she let him rest his arm there.

“Oh shit. Maybe you hit the nail on the head there.” Alecto facepalmed. “Right. Can I swear both of you to secrecy? If this gets out, she’s going to be majorly pissed.”

Both of them nodded in response.

“When she kissed me when we were out clubbing, that was a complete surprise as we’re not dating in the slightest. I know what she told both of you, and all. I’m not sure if either of you noticed how quickly I disappeared after she kissed me. As I was completely confused by the whole mess, whether it was alcohol related or not. She did blame it on the alcohol the next day, though. Which makes me think she doesn’t like me like that, and I’m just being stupid in continuing this agreement. I shouldn’t have gone along with it, that day.” Alecto threw up her hands in frustration, sitting forward in her seat.

“I’m not sure whether she doesn’t like you like that. There must be something she hasn’t said. I wouldn’t jump so quickly to conclusions.” Hope replied.

“Urgh. I’m just fed up with all this. I don’t want to lose her but if she keeps this up, I might just do that.” Alecto let out a frustrated sigh, and Lucas rested his hand on her leg.

Just in that dip in conversation, the door to the kitchen opened. Marisol came through and shut the door behind her. She made eye contact with Alecto, and quickly looked away, moving into the main kitchen area. She unpacked her shopping, clearly making as much noise as possible and avoiding eye contact with them. 

Hope nudged Alecto and widened her eyes. Alecto moved close to her ear, and whispered, “Something’s definitely up. She wouldn’t be making this much noise otherwise. I’m toying with ending the agreement though, I do want to try out new things.” 

Lucas nodded in response, clearly hearing her words. The sofa was small enough for her words to carry easily.

Marisol finished unpacking her shopping and made her way over to them, stomping her feet slightly. She sent Lucas a fierce glare.

“Have you ever heard of personal space? There’s an entire sofa, yet you two are cosied up to one another. Poor Hope, being stuck with you two lovebirds.” Her eyes pierced into Lucas, who raised his eyebrows in response.

“I’m actually fine here, thanks. Men and women can very much just be friends, which is what all 3 of us are. You should maybe give it a try, maybe you’ll like spending actual time with us. And I thought you were dating Alecto anyway. Unless you two broke up, I haven’t seen you two together at all.” Hope replied, trying to placate Marisol slightly, who rolled her eyes and stormed off, grabbing her shopping bags and backpack and slamming the door behind her.

Her angry exit caused an awkward silence between them, broken by Alecto letting out a loud sigh. 

“Jeez Louise. I’m so sorry for her! I don’t even know what her problem literally is, she’s the one who’s been avoiding me! Did she expect me to isolate myself too? I’m so confused. And Hope, you were kinder to her than she deserved, the way she acted especially. For fuck’s sake.” Alecto rolled her eyes. “She came in like a storm cloud and ruined my good mood.”

“Besides, the sofa is small. And technically all 3 of us are close together, it isn’t just both of us.” Lucas replied. He studied Alecto carefully. “Have you not realised what’s really happening with her? It’s pretty obvious.”

“Apart from her being a major shithead for no reason, no. Please help me out here. I want to end the agreement anyway, even if we are supposedly dating, I’m not having her treat my best friends like shit.” Alecto pushed her glasses up her nose, fiddling with long hair. 

“She obviously likes you, and is clearly jealous of us, for some reason. Both of us are friends, right? But she assumed that there was something going on between us. I’m willing to believe that she’s been sitting on a crush on you for years, then acted on it while drunk, then panicked because she didn’t want to lose you, so ended up pulling herself away from you as a result. Has she been acting strange even before the agreement?” Lucas explained.  _ Uh oh. That does make sense, but at the same time, being in a proper relationship with someone who treats people that way isn’t a good idea. She’s your best friend, right? What if he’s wrong? Then you’ll risk losing her over this. You have to end the agreement though, if your friendship is going to survive this. _

“I...Okay. Even if you’re right, I’m ending this agreement anyway. A fake relationship is really not something I want, if she does like me, I want to have a genuine relationship with her. Not whatever this is. This is my fault, I agreed to a fake relationship in the first place. But at the same time, I’m not entirely sure I want a relationship with her. Like, uni was supposed to be a fresh start, a chance for me to date if I wanted to. Even if I did like you, I can’t pursue it because of this mess I got into with Marisol! And people have actually asked me whether I’m dating you, but that’s a different kettle of fish.” She sighed, picking at the ends of her hair.

“She likely does like you. I’d hear her out, before you rush into anything. There’s probably something to explain this. I understand that you’ve ended up stuck in a mess, but ending the agreement is likely a good idea. Having a fake relationship over trying something real out was likely the issue there. Even if you do like Lucas instead. You can do what you like, just wanted to say my piece.” Hope explained.

Alecto nodded, and stood up. “I’m going to try to talk to her. At the very least, both of you deserve an apology. I get that it was just rude, but you deserve respect.”

Alecto made her way to the kitchen door, grabbing her phone and key card off the table as she went past. She closed the door behind her quietly and made her way down the hallway, knocking on Marisol’s door.

“L…leave me alone, please…” She heard Marisol’s voice, clearly muffled by tears. “If you’ve come to gloat that you won, and managed to get Alecto to like you, I don’t want to hear it.”  _ She sounds hurt. But she’s the only one causing this mess, genuinely. _

“Hey. It’s me, it’s Alecto. I wanted to talk to you. I’d prefer to not talk to a door, if you don’t mind. I’m worried about you, I want to check if you’re okay.” Alecto softened her voice slightly, and knocked again. 

The door opened, and Marisol appeared before her. “Come in, then. Shut the door behind you.”

Alecto followed Marisol inside, shutting the door behind her. As she turned to face Marisol, she noticed the other girl’s tear stained cheeks and splotchy face. Her glasses were off, leaving her looking vulnerable. She reached out to Marisol, taking her hand within her own hands. 

“Mari, l…” Her voice broke, seeing Marisol so upset hurt her. The anger in her voice vanished, left with something else she couldn’t explain.

“Can I just tell you something a second? Probably longer than a second, but you know what I mean.” Alecto pulled her voice back and waited for Marisol to nod in response.

Marisol nodded. 

“Agreeing to this fake relationship thing was definitely a bad idea. I mean, it’s clearly destroyed our friendship. I barely see you anymore. You’re my best friend, I want to see you. I want to end the agreement, and find some way to get back what we lost. If that means I actually try to explore something with Lucas, I’ll do that. Despite your accusation earlier, we’re just friends. Along with Hope, too. We’re just a group of 3 friends, nothing else is happening at all. I have other friends too, course mates and people in the same societies as me. You don’t seem to have an issue with them, so why do you have such a problem with Lucas? I’m willing to draw a line under that night that we kissed and forget it entirely. It depends what you want. If you want to let me go, I’ll be okay with that too. Well, not okay, but you know what I mean. I struggle with words, you know that.” She squeezed Marisol’s hand, her heart beat thundering in her ears.

“Wait. You have no idea?” Marisol’s breath caught in her throat as she watched Alecto.

“What do you mean?” Alecto tilted her head to the side with confusion.

“I’ve had a crush on you since we were kids. I only fully started to realise when we were thirteen, but since then I’ve been falling more and more in love with you. I’m not sure how you haven’t noticed at all. That’s partly what happened with Olivia, she accused me of being ‘in love with you’ and I couldn’t deny it. She was frustrated that she never entirely had my heart to begin with, that I had always given it away to you, and not even given her a fair shot. I know I never told you why we broke up, but I didn’t want you to blame yourself for my relationship not working out. That one was part of a long string of relationships that didn’t work out, but it hurt the most. I haven’t dated anyone since Olivia, I grew terrified of committing to anyone. I’m sorry I kept that from you. It’s always been you, actually. Whenever I needed someone by my side, there you were. And same as me for you. I’ve never really been in love before, being with Olivia wasn’t love. None of my relationships have been love, apart from what I have for you. I love you when we talk late at night and I have to survive off two or three hours of sleep the next day. I love you when we hang out together, and you talk to me about something you’re passionate about. Also, I never had a real birthday party before you asked me if we could join our birthdays together. I did have one, but it was always lonely as I’d invite a lot of people, and you’d be the only one to come. Joining our birthdays together changed my birthday as a day, spending time with you and your other friends and family. You’re the one constant in my life, the one thing I can’t lose. I could have gone better about it than kissing you while drunk. But the feelings were always real, I promise. I don’t want to let you go, I want the opposite.” Marisol looked over at Alecto, focusing directly on her during her entire speech. 

Alecto’s breath caught in her throat, and tears rolled down her cheeks. “Wow. I...I can’t believe I haven’t noticed. That’s a long time ago. Lucas and Hope were right, you did have a crush on me all along. Wow, I...I don’t know what to say.”

Somehow Marisol’s confession was the one thing that sent her into a tailspin, everything she was certain about fell away in an instant. She bit her lip, and felt the strange feeling in her stomach again. Without questioning, she lightly caught hold of Marisol’s chin and kissed her gently on the lips, not expecting her to kiss back. Marisol deepened the kiss, wrapping her arms around Alecto’s shoulders. Alecto let go of her chin, and felt Marisol move closer to her. They separated, breathless. 

Alecto put a finger to her lips, feeling them vibrate with the unexpected kiss. She blinked, her eyes wide. 

She had had crushes before, but nothing quite as intense as the feeling she felt for Marisol. It took her unexpected confession for her to realise that the real reason nothing ever seemed real enough for her was that she was yet to realise who her person really was. 

“What about starting something real? And ending this weird agreement? Would you be up for that?” Alecto asked, her breath caught in her throat. 

“Of course... I panicked, when we started the fake relationship. I isolated myself and let my anxiety get the better of me. Then I lashed out at Lucas, and Hope for nothing but being friends with you. Of course you can have friends, I owe both of them an apology. I can’t believe my luck, that my dream is a reality. Thank you for giving me another chance.” Marisol’s words wavered to start with, but eventually they ran together into a rush of emotions. 

“To something real, then?” Alecto held out a bracelet to her, and Marisol took it.

“Something real.” 

Tears still trailed down her face, but these were a completely different kind. A comfortable silence grew between them, and they linked hands.  _ Maybe there is a chance for you two, then.  _

  
  
  



End file.
